Hugh Percy

Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland (14 August 1742-10 July 1817) was a Lieutenant-General of the British Army and a member of parliament for Westminster in Great Britain from 1763 to 1776.

Biography
Hugh Percy was born on 14 August 1742, the son of Hugh Smithson and Lady Elizabeth Seymour, and his mother was of the House of Percy. Hugh Smithson changed his last name to Percy after inheriting the Duchy of Northumberland, and he joined the British Army in 1759. Percy fought at Bergen and Minden during the Seven Years' War, and in 1764 he became a colonel and aide-de-camp to King George III of Britain. In 1774, he was sent to Boston as a Brigadier-General and given command of the 5th Regiment of Foot. At the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Percy led the relief column that prevented disaster, but arguments with Major-General William Howe led to him being absent from the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775. In 1776, he fought at Fort Washington and Long Island, and he decided to return to England in 1777 after a final dispute with Howe. Percy became one of the richest men in England, and he died of rheumatic gout in 1817.